Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Josie was getting a bad feeling about where this story was going. Malcolm had a real gift as a storyteller, and Josie felt herself becoming invested in these people who’d lived here long ago.
“Vincent joined the Royal Air Force and tragically, was killed defending his country. After his plane went down, his widow was distraught, as you can imagine. After the war, she took young Vincent to America, to Chicago I believe, where she had friends. Anyway, she met an American, married him, and never came back.”
“But how sad to leave this beautiful house.”
Mari and Josie gazed at the empty manor house that seemed bereft without a family to call it home. “I can imagine leaving here and never coming back if anything happened to Owen,” Mari said.
Malcolm continued, “There’s a firm of lawyers who’ve looked after Pemberton House and outbuildings ever since. At some point, the family agreed to open the grounds to the public, but otherwise it’s been left empty.”
Mari took up the tale. “When I read about you, Josie, and got the idea to hold a reading retreat here, I immediately thought of the cottages. It was Malcolm who made it happen.”
Josie felt her interest perk up even more. “Really? What did Malcolm do?”
“Very little,” Malcolm said.
But Mari just smiled at him. “He knows one of the top lawyers in the firm. You’ll find Malcolm knows a lot of influential people in London. Anyway, he persuaded them to get in touch with the owner of Pemberton House and see if I could rent the cottages. To my absolute delight, they agreed, and the rent is affordable. I got the feeling it was more of a favor than anything.”
“But that’s wonderful.” Josie was still staring at the manor house. “But who could own such an amazing house and not want to live in it?”
Malcolm replied, “Not everyone wants to live in a historic home with old plumbing and creaky floors and windows that let in the rain.”
“Then maybe they should sell the property to someone who would want to.”
“I imagine they will at some point, if no one in the family ever comes back,” Malcolm said.
They resumed walking, and behind the big house was a row of adorable cottages.
Mari said, “I was also able to rent the garden space, in addition to the cottages, for the reading retreats. So we’ll be looking at all of that today, and I’m really hoping you can transform the cottages into a really wonderful space for people to come and get away from it all with a book.”
“A manor house—it’s so thrilling.” Josie smiled at Malcolm. “We Americans, we’re wowed by stuff like this.”
“We Brits are pretty thrilled by it too,” Malcolm said, then turned to Mari. “I don’t believe the cottages have been occupied in decades. Have you been inside?”
“I have,” Mari said, “and there is definitely a reason why I’m able to afford the lease. They are in worse shape than Elderflower Island Books was when I took it over, but not too much worse. I took them as is so I could lease them quickly and at a good rate. They need a thorough clean and some cosmetic stuff that I’m sure we can deal with, mostly a scrub and some paint. Fiona’s got a friend who’s a home stager, and she’s organized couches and chairs and tables that we can rent. If it’s successful, I’ll invest in permanent furniture, but for now, I just want to see if they work.”
Malcolm had a feeling he’d be swapping his Brioni suits and laptop for coveralls and a paintbrush in the near future. Oddly, the idea didn’t put him off at all. In fact, he was excited by the prospect. He’d spent so much of his life in a suit, chasing investors, organizing deals, sitting in boardrooms, that he craved physical labor.
Mari continued, “I love the idea of the reading retreats taking place on the grounds of Pemberton House. It’s so romantic. Plus, it’s so close to the bookshop.”
It sounded like Mari had her heart set on these buildings, so between him and his brother and the rest of his family, they’d do whatever it took to make the project work for her. They’d already helped her turn the dilapidated bookshop around after her father died, so it seemed natural for the family to pitch in and fix up some outbuildings.
“I’m sure it will all be great,” Josie said, positive as always.
Mari smiled gratefully at her, obviously appreciating the boost of enthusiasm. “Here we are,” she announced as they reached the string of attached cottages.
Josie exclaimed, “These are amazing!”
He tried to see them through her eyes and could see the charm. Though on a much smaller scale, the cottages matched the Pemberton House with its exterior of old gray stone, soaring roof, and big windows. The manor had clearly been built by someone who understood proportion and grandeur. The cottages were more intimate, probably built for the staff, but featuring the same gray stone, pretty windows, and slate roofs.